Ligonier Township looks into hiring manager

Daily Photo Galleries

Ligonier Photo Galleries

Ligonier Township supervisors will accept applications for a committee to study the possibility of hiring a township manager as Westmoreland County detectives investigate undisclosed irregularities uncovered during an audit.

“It's obvious we need some oversight,” Supervisor Grover Binkey said at a meeting Tuesday. “With the things that are going on, we could probably use a manager, but we're not sure how we could pay him.”

In July, an audit conducted by Deltron Management Consultants allegedly uncovered proof that Whipkey had been viewing “Internet sites that were inappropriate on company time” and that zoning officer Cynthia Angelo, who had been appointed interim secretary treasurer, had been operating an “Internet flea market” on her office computer, according to Supervisor Tim Komar.

Officials ended Angelo's employment at a special meeting on July 25. Komar said the township will pursue possible theft charges against Whipkey and Angelo.

On Tuesday, resident Chris Turner urged the supervisors to consider creating a committee to determine whether the manager position should be created.

“You seem to agree you need it,” Turner said. “Why not find out what it's going to cost and what the benefits would be?”

Supervisors voted 2-1 to form the committee, with Supervisor Albert “Mike” Shadron dissenting.

When the audit of the secretary treasurer office was mentioned, Komar said, “There was information turned over to the district attorney's office today. We had to go through things so that reports could be done. The reports were given to the district attorney's office today.”

Three county detectives visited the township Tuesday to collect information, Binkey said.

The audit, which contains “major omissions,” is not complete, Komar said.

“The investigation into the secretary treasurer's office is ongoing,” Komar said. “It grew a lot bigger than I'm at liberty to say right now.”

The supervisors voted unanimously to use Building Inspection Underwriters to conduct interim zoning functions.

Komar said the agency was recommended by officials from Derry Borough and other communities.

BIU will perform zoning duties on a monthly basis as needed. It will be paid $55 per code-enforcement inspection, including one additional inspection. After that, additional re-inspections will cost $55. BIU will be paid $55 per zoning hearing or meeting for the first hour and $13.75 for every additional 15 minutes.

Komar said “time is of the essence” in putting some sort of zoning procedure in place until a zoning officer is hired because, by law, if the township does not act on pending building permit applications on a timely basis, applicants can apply for a deemed approval.

The township has received 20 applications for the position, including two applicants with zoning experience. Komar said they do not have time to interview and train someone in time to meet the 30-day window for outstanding applications.

“We're under the gun on this,” he said.

Nicole Chynoweth is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-850-2862 or nchynoweth@tribweb.com.

TribLive commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments  either by the same reader or different readers.

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

Print Source

Welcome to PrintSource, a division of Trib Total Media.

We have established a veteran team that provides daily and weekly newspaper companies with a comprehensive set of services that include design, print, packaging and delivery of their products, all from one source and location.

Gone are the days when each facet of newspaper printing and delivery had to be outsourced to different companies and venues. Now, PrintSource provides a viable solution with just one phone call.

Digital Sales

We offer a wide variety of traditional and new digital advertising options customized to fit your needs!

Whether you're just starting out, or you've been a keystone in the community for years, our knowledgeable staff can provide you with a customized package including online banners/advertisements, Social Media Marketing (Facebook / Twitter), Website development, Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing solutions and much more!

Contact your local sales rep today for details, personalized proposal and a meeting to discuss how we can meet your needs.